Canadian Homes Sales Rose During The Summer As Prices Remain Largely Flat

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Canadian homes sales rebounded during the summer months from a slump seen earlier in the year, reported the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

However, while sales volumes picked up during the summer – traditionally the busiest time of the year for residential real estate transactions – home prices have barely budged from the same period last year, according to CREA.

CREA, which represents 125,000 realtors nationwide, said home sales increased by 0.9% in August, the fourth monthly increase in a row after new mortgage rules implemented in January caused a downturn in sales activity during the first half of 2018. But the monthly sales figure is still 4% below where it stood at the same point in 2017.

CREA added that the average price of a single detached home sold in Canada during August was $475,500, up only 1% from August 2017.

House prices continued to rise in British Columbia in August, with an annual increase of 4.1% in Vancouver. However, sales prices only rose 1.4% across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on an annual basis in August. Still, August marked the first increase in home sale prices seen in the GTA during the last six months, said CREA in a news release.

Interestingly, Ottawa saw one of the largest annual increases in home sale prices during August, rising 7.1% from a year earlier. Home sale prices in Montreal also saw healthy year-over-year gains in August, growing 5.9%.